In 2014, Mashable blogged that social media and the Internet shorten our attention spans, cause insomnia and shorten impulse control. The blog's author, Rebecca Hiscott, advised us that digital media reduces our ability to read hard copy books and articles. She suggests this can be particularly troubling for young people whose brains are more malleable" and need concentration skills. ​

Modern technology is changing our brains says Neuro-scientist, Professor Susan Greenfield"the brain is not the unchanging organ that we might imagine. It not only goes on developing, changing and ... deteriorating with age, it is also substantially shaped by what we do to it and by the experience of daily life... [Technology] will affect our brains over the next 100 years in ways we might never have imagined. ​

​Professor Armin Trost is an organisational psychology/HRM issues researcher and lecturer at the HFU Business School in Furtwangen, Germany.​In his following lectures he answers the questions:-​What is meant by a change?What are major types of changes in organizations?Why and How do changes often lead to dysfunctional human reactions?How can employees be led through changes by applying change management measures?Which conditions are required to effectively manage change? "

Lecture One

Lecture Two

The Transtheoretical Model (also called the Stages of Change Model), was developed by Prochaska and DiClemente in the late 1970's. It evolved through studies examining the experiences of smokers who quit on their own with those who needed help, to understand why some people were capable of quitting on their own and others were unable to. Prochaska and DiClemente concluded that people quit smoking when they are ready to do so. The Transtheoretical Model of change evolved as a result of their study findings. It focuses on the decision-making of the individual and is a model of intentional change. The model operates on the assumption that people do not change behaviors quickly and decisively and that changes in habitual behavior happens continuously through a cyclical process. The six stages of the original Model are

pre-contemplation,

contemplation,

preparation,

action and

maintenance.

At each stage of change different strategies are suggested to encourage people to move through the model to the ideal stage of behavior. However, since the model is about intentional change, it makes one wonder how useful it is in actually changing the behaviour of someone who has strong addictive tendencies.Considerations, a public health professional may consider when seeking to access this model, may include how the theory

ignores the social context of the addictive behavioural environment

has no set criteria between the stages in support of a person's stage of change. The Model questionnaires, developed to assign a person to a stage of change, are not always standardized or validated.

There is no clear sense for how much time is needed to move on to the next stage, or how long a person can remain in a stage.

The model assumes that individuals make coherent and logical plans in their decision-making process which doesn't mean that we do!

Addictive Behaviors is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing high quality human research on addictive behaviors and disorders since 1976. The journal accepts submissions of full-length papers and short communications on substance-related addictions such as the abuse of alcohol, drugs and nicotine and behavioral addictions such as compulsive gambling and internet excesses. The journal especially welcomes multimedia papers that incorporate video or audio components to better display methodology or findings.

The Psychology of Addictive Behaviors® also publishes peer-reviewed original articles related to the psychological aspects of addictive behaviors. Randomized trials, laboratory and prospective studies, and meta-analyses are given the highest priorities.

Transactional analysis is the psychological concept that humans are social creatures and that a person is a multi-faceted being that changes when in contact with another person in their world.Transactional analysis integrates the theories of psychology and psychotherapy because it has elements of psychoanalytic, humanist and cognitive ideas. TA was first developed in the late 1950's by Eric Berne. According to the International Transactional Analysis Association, TA 'is a theory of personality and a systematic psychotherapy for personal growth and change. click on the following link for Project Gutenberg's World Heritage Encyclopedia information on Transactional Analysis.

We all engage in impression management - trying to put our best foot forward and "fit in" in social situations. Two psychological constructs address how people "perform" in social situations, and there are subtle, but important, differences.The first construct is called Self-Monitoring, and it is the ability to read social cues and alter one's behavior in order to try to "fit in" to a specific social situation. Often the high self-monitor controls his or her behavior in order to impress others or to receive others' social approval. Low self-monitors, on the other hand, are less concerned with self-presentation and are more likely to express their true attitudes and feelings, regardless of the social circumstances (think about someone who expresses their true political feelings regardless of who they are interacting with, versus the high self-monitor who sizes up the crowd [liberal vs. conservative?] before sharing, or not sharing, political opinions).The second construct is called Social Control, and is skill in social acting. Persons high on social control are also able to control and manage their impressions, but they are not as highly affected by the social situation. Instead, the high social control individual possesses a social self-confidence and poise that allows him or her to be effective in a wide variety of social situations. Instead of the high self-monitor's tendency to "blend in," the person high in Social Control tends to stand out in a positive manner.Our research has found that individuals who possess a great deal of Social Control, and who are also expressive and outgoing, are more likely to be perceived as potential leaders, and to lead social groups. High self-monitors are also likely to be chosen as leaders because they represent the "prototype" of a group leader (because they fit in).One problem with the high self-monitor is that in the desire to fit in with the group and gain their approval, the person may become a sort of "social chameleon," changing attitudes, opinions, and feelings in an effort to fit in and be accepted. From a leadership perspective, this can mean the leader is highly sensitive and responsive to the social climate (and the leader changes views depending on the crowd, and may appear "wishy-washy"). Socially, the extremely high self-monitor fits in, but we never get a sense of who the social chameleon really is or what he or she believes in and stands for... read more

"It seems humanity is united in its humdrum obsession " Caroline Williams reported in the Oct Australian New Scientist Magazine (2015). According to Ms Williams, Russel Hurlburt of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has sampled individual trains of thought since the 1970's. To date he has discovered very few "big" thoughts as a result of his sampling studies, which consisted of beeping people six times a day to write down their thoughts. The outcome of his research suggests there are five basic modes of thinking.

INNER SPEAKINGHearing words in your own voice.

INNER SEEINGSeeing a visual image in your mind's eye

FEELINGAny strong emotion

SENSORY AWARENESSA sensory signal that overwhelms all else. Can be imagined e.g. thinking of something soft

UNSYMBOLIZED THINKINGA concept unattached to any mental words or images.